DIY Coffee Scrub

Just another manic Monday at the Aviles house. Maybe it was the busy weekend or my growing toddler. Short naps and constant eating anyone??? Here's a little dose of energy for the rest of the week.

My love of coffee is SERIOUS. The coffee cups we own are basically the size of a bowl. I refuse to buy anything that brew less than 12 cups at a time. I like to keep coffee extras stocked for company the way most people would stock a bar. I painted our old cabinet with this adorable phrase that said "All I need is coffee and Jesus" okay...the more I am typing the more I see how serious this love is.

Last year we started a compost bin, but this is, by far, my favorite way to reuse my grinds. The recipe is simple and can be easily doubled.



Ingredients:
1/2 cup of ground coffee
1/2 cup raw sugar
1/4 cup coconut oil
Splash of vanilla extract *optional*

Step One:
Mix coffee and sugar in a bowl.

Step Two:
Add coconut oil to the bowl and stir. This will moisturize
and adds a subtle delicious smell.

Step Three:
If you want, mix in the vanilla extract. This will have it smelling like a delicious French Vanilla iced coffee.

Step Four:
Store in an airtight container, such as a jar. I recommend using it within a month, but it will last up to six months.

Pop Up Camper Remodel - Galaxy Curtains

It took one summer of camping in a tent with 2 babies to realize I may not be up for tenting anymore. On the other hand I love camping so much, I probably would have just sucked it up and over prepared. However; we were so blessed to find a 1986 popup camper for a steal at the end of last season! We set it up once at the end of the season and my brain started storming with ideas. Ideas for slipcovers and paint colors, but also ideas on what should be fixed or cared for to last us another 20+ years of family adventures.

Closed it up. Covered it. Stored it for the Winter. Warmer weather was moving in and when I saw the first week of sunny skies in the forecast I got motivated! Pulled it out and opened it all up. Woah! Time to dive in! The first step was to clean EVERYTHING. I'll dig into that later. 

I wanted to start with these Galaxy curtains I made. 

I had tossed the idea back and forth of sewing new curtains, but aside from a few stains I couldn't get out, they were in really good shape and they are thick sun blocking curtains *BONUS*

Most galaxy inspired projects are done on a black background. The curtains were already blue and I knew it would be a time saver to leave the strip of clips sewn on the back of each one.

Supplies:

Bleach

Spray Bottle

Dish Sponge (cut into 4 pieces)

Scissors (to cut sponge)

Fabric Paint Colors (3 of your choice)

Glow Fabric Paint (optional)

White Fabric Paint

Step 1: Cleaning

I simply stain treated them and threw them in the washer with Borax. Dissolve 1/4 cup of Borax into 4 cups of warm water. Add to washer basin with curtains and wash on Normal. Dry in the sun. Stains and smell came out!

Step 2: Bleaching

Fill spray bottle with bleach. Spray curtains heavy in some areas, lighter in others. You can make designs by twisting, folding, or scrunching the fabric. When finished, run the curtains through a COLD rinse and spin cycle to set the bleach at desired effect.

Step 3: Sponging On Color

I used basic dish sponges and cut them into quarters because the curtain area i was painting was so large. Add center color of fabric paint to a tray, cardboard, etc. and dip sponge. You want enough to paint, but not too much to make it leave blobs. The order of colors I added was blue, pink, purple, dark pink, glitter purple. I may have stuck to 3 colors, but Michaels had fabric paint on clearance so I paid between .24 and 1.24 for my bottles of paint. Add one color at a time, but you may need to go back and blend some of the colors. Use actual galaxy images for inspiration

Step 4: Glow in the Dark

I added glow in the dark paint on top of all of the blue designs. Two coats worked perfect. The glow is easily noticed.

Step 5: Stars

Once the colors are dry, you can add the stars. White metallic fabric paint like this, is what I used. It comes with a pointed tip which makes it easy to add stars. Paint them more concentrated toward the center of your galaxies and further apart into the darkness. I added some shapes to mine and changed the sizes as well.

Step 6: Constellations

This step is optional. I added them to spark some interest and learning in our daughters. I simply added stars in the pattern of the constellation and painted glow in the dark lines to connect them. I also painted the constellation name under the image.

Let them dry and hang to enjoy!

Tasty Strawberry Kiwi Pops

The hot weather has arrived and little miss A loves nothing more than a pop to cool her down. Cutting up some fruit for snack time inspired this simple and tasty idea.

Strawberry Kiwi Pops

Ingredients:
Popsicle molds (or small cups)
1 Kiwi diced
4 Strawberries diced
3 Cups coconut milk
Popsicle sticks

Yields 6 pops

Step 1: Peel and dice kiwi. Slices also work if you prefer.

Step 2: Wash and dice strawberries.

Step 3: Add fruit to cups.

Step 4: Fill cups with enough coconut milk to cover the fruit.

Step 5: If using a popsicle mold, simply attach the tops and set in freezer. If using popsicle sticks,  freeze for one hour before inserting the stick. This allows you to set the stick halfway through the pop instead of resting on the bottom of the cup.

Step 6: Freeze overnight and enjoy!!